


Instant.

by LarkandLioness



Category: Shades of London Series - Maureen Johnson
Genre: 50 Sentences, Accidental Plot, Confessions, F/M, Getting Together, Guilt, I Don't Even Know, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, LiveJournal, Multiple Endings, Not Beta Read, POV Third Person Limited, Protectiveness, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-02-10 12:40:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 51
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18660646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LarkandLioness/pseuds/LarkandLioness
Summary: We jump around from moment to moment in Stephen and Rory's  (love) lives.





	1. A--1

**Motion**

********

Stephen tensed up, and quickly motioned Rory to get behind him; backs against the wall, he pointed the terminus at the door.

********


	2. A2.

**Cool**

**  
< br/> **

****

br/> Stephen looked calm and collected, cool as a cucumber; he might not have heard that Rory was in danger at all.  
"Well?" His voice was soft, but he was unmistakably furious.  



	3. A3.

**Young**

********

********

********

Rory looked so young as she slept beside him; her wholehearted belief that everything would be fine if she stayed in London -- stayed with him, Stephen Dene -- shook him to the core. 

********


	4. A4.

**Last ******  
"I'm telling you for the last time, turn back!"  
"And I'm telling you, not a chance!" Rory shot back.


	5. A5.

**Wrong.**

Rory's voice broke like a thunderstorm. "Tell me I'm wrong!"  
_"I'm _wrong." _Stephen said, and gently lifted her face up to meet his.___

****


	6. A6.

**Gentle.**  
  
Stephen's voice was extremely gentle, but the cold, hard words were from a stranger. 


	7. A7.

**One**

****

Stephen was incredibly frightened by how, to him, multitudes of very important questions only had one answer: "Her. Just Rory."  



	8. A8.

**Thousand**  
  
The Shadow Cabinet could give him a thousand orders, but Rory's protection would always be his top priority.  



	9. A9.

**King**

********

Stephen knew he would fight against the King of Terrors for Rory, but she's defied both Life and Death for him, a nobody, and he didn't understand _why._


	10. A10.

**Learn**  
There was so much to learn about each other that couldn't be as simple as reading a book, Stephen thought, sad and frustrated after their fight 


	11. A11.

**Blur**  
At last, Stephen and Rory's whole lives passed by them in blurs of color and sound; unknown to the other each slowed, crystal clear, during moments when they spent time together.


	12. A12.

**Wait**

****

"We need you!" He argued. It wasn't enough; she walked away.  
"...I need you." He admitted quietly, hollow inside, but he had a sinking suspicion he'd waited too long and it was too late.  



	13. A13.

**Command ******  
Stephen has been compelled to follow every command The Shadow Cabinet has given, and _so far; _his desires have coincided with theirs.__


	14. A--14.

**Hold ******  
Stephen wouldn't be able to hold back forever -- Rory was sure of it!  



	15. A--15

**Need ******  
When it came, Rory's declaration was simple, yet sincere. "Stephen, I need you more than air."  



	16. A-16.

**Sudden ******  
Each had a sudden vision of what life would be like without each other; it was hell, pure and simple.  



	17. A--17.

**Attention ******  
Stephen peered intently over his glasses and leaned forward, giving Rory his full attention; she looked around nervously to avoid his sharp gaze long enough to think of something.  



	18. A--18

**Soul**

"S/He loved you -- body, heart, and soul." Boo said, uncharacteristically serious. She got a dumb nod in response. "I kn--"  



	19. A--19.

**Picture ******  
Stephen stroked the well-worn photo tenderly with his thumb until it lay flat again, careful not to rip the corners any further; it was, after all, the last thing he had of her.  



	20. A--20.

**Fool**  
"I wasn't fooling around! Were you?"  



	21. A--21.

**Mad**  
  
"Who's really mad, bad, and dangerous to know around here, hmm?" Rory teased.  



	22. A--22.

**Child**  
"Rory knows as much as a child," Stephen reported. "That's the good news, _and _the bad news. _"She's also perspective as a child..." _he thought to himself.  
____


	23. A--23.

**Now ******  
Things had to happen now, they had no second chances!  



	24. A--24.

**Shadow**  
The sun came out briefly, and for a few moments the girl's shadow stretched out lovingly to reach the boy's as the two walked side-by-side on the pavement.  



	25. A--25.

**Goodbye ******  
She yanked him back by his sleeve.  
"I can't do it, I can't let you go without saying--" Rory didn't get any further before he kissed her.  



	26. A--26.

**Hide ******  
  
"I'm sick of hiding!" Rory cried; the car skidded to a stop.  



	27. B--1.

**Fortune ******  
"I don't believe fortune or destiny had anything to do with it, and I will never say otherwise!"  
"Than how else will we explain how we met to Cousin Diane?" Rory asked Stephen.


	28. B--2.

**Safe ******  
"I'm supposed to keep you safe." He said.  
"I'm not safe -- Not really."  



	29. B--3.

**Ghost ******  
  
It was a ghost of a memory, a ghost of a kiss, but it would have to do.  



	30. B--4.

**Book ******  
  
Towers of books, an ocean of them, and none of them had the information needed to stop the twins!  



	31. B--5.

**Eye**  
  
He must have his eye on Rory.  



	32. Chapter 32

**Never ******  
"Always" and "Never" are dangerous words for Stephen, doubly so where Rory is involved.  



	33. 34

**Sing ******  
"HOW CAN I SING IN THE SHOWER WITHOUT A MICROPHONE? STEPHEN, GET IN HERE! STEPHEEEENNN!"  



	34. 35

**Sudden ******  
"It happened so suddenly," Rory told her grandchildren, decades later. "I looked at him, and I just knew."  



	35. B--6.

**Stop**  
  
"You could stop me from leaving at any time, but WOULD you?" Rory asked.  



	36. B--7.

**Time ******  
  
"It's time I told you something -- And it's important you hear it from me before anyone else." Stephen took a deep breath.  



	37. 38

**Wash**  
  
"Can you really wash your hands of this, all of it?" The figure sneered. "She's a gem!  
"Her name is Rory!"  



	38. B--8.

**Torn**  
  
The girl or the world?  



	39. B--9.

**History ******  
  
"So, what's your history?" Eloise asked.  
"It's complicated."  



	40. B--10.

**Power**  
  
"You have no idea, the power you have over me." He told her. There was awe, and regret, and something she couldn't place in his voice that gave it a slight edge.  



	41. B--11.

**Bother ******  
  
"You could never be a bother!" Stephen assured her; the circumstances surrounding her, however...  



	42. B--12.

**God**  
  
The most religious Rory ever got was 'God' spelled backward is 'Dog.' It made standing in the afterlife awkward (once she remembered it).  



	43. B--13.

**Wall**  
  
Rory had to break the wall between them down! She wore a determined expression as she stood in front of Stephen's door, readied her implements, and yelled "Charge!"  



	44. B--14.

**Naked ******  
  
Stephen hated, hated, hated having to strip away Rory's illusions, except perhaps about him; he'd never been good with words, and he never wanted to hurt her...but he had to sit down and reveal the naked truth; he felt raw, shaky by the end of it.  



	45. B--15.

**Drive**  
  
Hours upon hours spent speeding down the streets of London, every by road and bloody shortcut memorised, and he still didn't -- couldn't reach Rory quick enough!  



	46. B--16.

**Harm**  
Don't harm a hair on their head; the Shades kill the dead for a living.  



	47. B--17.

**Precious ******  
  
Rory was precious to him, not because of what she could do, but because of who she was.  



	48. B--18.

**Hunger**  
  
Stephen and Rory always ate together; food was constantly on Rory's mind, so she had no problem getting him to eat with her and it was basically the only way Stephen got fed.  



	49. B--19.

**Believe**  
  
"You have to believe me!"


	50. B--20.

**Believe**  
  
"You have to believe me!"


	51. A Lifetime, An Eternity.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I try to earn my "Accidental Plot" tag!

Rory looked so young as she slept beside him. Her wholehearted belief everything would be fine if she stayed in London -- stayed with him, Stephen Dene -- shook him to the core. 

The girl, or the world? 

"Rory knows as much as a child," He announced to the Shadow Cabinet. "That's the good news." The bad news, he thought to himself. Was that she was also as perceptive as a child. 

"Can you really wash your hands of this, all of it, just for this girl?" The shadowy figure sneered at him. "She's a gem!"  
Something broke free inside Stephen at those words, the condescending tone. "Her name is Rory!" 

He was incredibly frightened by how there was really only one answer to...to so many things, so many issues, that were supposed to be bigger than him. "Just her," He said it very quietly but in the calm before the storm, everyone in the room heard him. "Just Rory." 

Stephen had to follow every command he was given, and so far he had done so perfectly. 

They could give him a thousand orders, but she would always be his top priority. She was precious to him, not because of what she could do, but because of who she was. 

"I could never hide myself from you." He admitted to her. 

There was a wall between them, and she had to break it down! He wouldn't be able to hold himself back from her forever--She could feel it!

"I wasn't fooling around! Were you?" Her declaration was simple, yet sincere. "Stephen, I need you more than air." 

"You could stop me from leaving at any time, but would you?"  
"We need you!" He argued, but it wasn't enough. She walked away from the Shades, from London, from him, and suppose it was forever? "I need you." He admitted quietly, but he had a sinking feeling he'd waited too long, and she hadn't heard him. 

"Tell me I'm wrong!"  
"No, I'm wrong." He said, as he gently lifted her head until her eyes met his. "You have no idea, the power you have over me." 

"I'm telling you for the last time, turn back!"  
"And I'm telling you, not a chance!" She shot back.  
"I'm supposed to keep you safe." He said.  
"But I'm not safe -- Not really." She argued.  
There was so much about each other that couldn't be learned from books, he brooded on the thought. 

He had his eye on her all the time. 

"It's time I told you something, and it's important that you hear it from me, before anyone else can tell you. He told her seriously.  
He hated having to strip away her illusions, except possibly about him; but he didn't want to hurt her while he did it. However, he'd never been good with words, especially where care was needed. But even though he dreaded it, he forced himself to sit down and reveal the naked truth to her, bit by bit. It was a long ordeal, and he felt raw, shaky by the end of it.  
"You have to believe me!" He almost pleaded.  
"I could never hide myself from you." He admitted.  
The most religious she ever got was 'God' spelled backwards is 'Dog' It made the memories she regained of standing in the afterlife with Stephen awkward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Which the Author Forgets Sleep to Earn Their Tag!  
>  Additional content is being mused over, and kinda in the works. It's complicated. Anyway, enjoy!


End file.
